Chapter 12 6. Space Ball KW0002

The space bus station is an enlarged space ball. This is a busy port. Big buses float up from the clouds and park at various berths according to the navigation of the bus station.Passengers on the big bus come out bustlingly. There is a slight gravity of the earth here, and people walk in light vertical leaps.From here to various space sphere settlements, they have to transfer to a space motorboat with two to three crew members.After the transfer, motorboats left the port one after another, like fireflies with yellow taillights.Ruyi originally rented a small spaceship, so she didn't need to transfer. After checking her ticket at the bus station and exiting the station, she quickly traveled alone in the empty space.The familiar scenery brought her back to her childhood in a trance: At that time, she often stuck to the glass window of the space ball, crushed the bridge of her nose, and greedily looked at the scenery outside the window.This kind of scenery has not been with her for a long time.

Space ball KW0002 appeared in the field of vision. It was a large pale black ball, slowly rotating, and appeared lonely on the empty background.Ruyi didn't inform Grandpa and Keen in advance, and wanted to give them a surprise.When she was approaching the space ball, she turned on the intercom: "Grandpa, Uncle Keen, it's me, Ruyi, I've arrived at your door!" Keen's surprise voice immediately rang through the intercom: "Is it Xiao Ruyi? Why are you here suddenly? Your grandpa is sleeping, wait a moment, and I will open the airtight door for you right away."

Ruyi moored the motorboat onto the space ball carefully and fastened the anchor buckle carefully.The sun turns from behind the earth, and the sunlight shines on the battery panels of the space ball to provide electricity for the space ball.Looking down on the dear old earth, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River have become two thin belts, the Pacific Ocean is shining with blue light, and the white snow-capped mountains stretch on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.Ruyi admired happily, waiting for the airtight door to open.Keane said the door would open "right now," but right away was a little too long.Twenty minutes later, before hearing the familiar clicking sound, Ruyi shouted anxiously:

"Uncle Keene, what's the matter with you? What are you dawdling about?" Keane smiled and said, "Don't worry, it will be ready soon." After another ten minutes, the outer door of the airtight door finally opened.Ruyi opened the sealed door of the motorboat, and her spacesuit inflated immediately. She squeezed into the airtight door of the space ball with difficulty, the outer door closed, the air pressure in the airtight chamber gradually increased, and the spacesuit gradually shrunk.The inner door opened, and Ruyi hurried in. It was still the familiar space ball, she had lived here for five years, and she knew every part of the ball like the back of her hand.Grandpa was on the opposite side of the spacer, above her head, and Kean was working on something in the back of his head.I am used to the gravity of the earth, and when I first step into the space ball, I always feel that my eyes cannot adapt to the weirdness here.Keane on top of his head raised his head and said with a smile on his face:

"Wait a minute, Mr. Ji's sleep is about to end, I'll help you take off your space suit." "No, I can do it myself." She took off her spacesuit and walked carefully along the inside of the sphere to Grandpa (psychologically she couldn't get rid of the illusion of "walking to the ceiling").Grandpa still has his eyes closed, and the two magnetic poles are still attached to his temples. This kind of powerful sleep machine was once popular on the earth, but it was soon eliminated.Currently, this machine is used only for insomniacs.But grandpa has been using it all the time, and he wants to race against death to complete the great book: "Dialogue with the Philosopher-Past, Present and Future".Grandpa slept very peacefully, and he still looked majestic in his sleep. This kind of majesty is innate.At this time, Keen made a gesture to Ruyi and took off the polar plate on the old man's temple. Sure enough, Grandpa woke up blinking his eyes.When he opened his eyes, he stared at Ruyi's face with a shocked expression.

Ruyi laughed and threw herself into his arms: "It's me, it's Ruyi, Grandpa, I'm here to see you." She rubbed the old man's face affectionately.Grandpa was obviously very happy, but he still kept his emotions secret as in the past, with a calm expression, did not speak, and just put his arms around his granddaughter.Perhaps, he couldn't completely forget his "old grudge" and his granddaughter's rebellion against him. RB Keane packed up the sleep machine, walked over, and gently stroked Ruyi's soft hair with his fingers without fingerprints.Ruyi stood up and happily embraced her childhood playmate.She was immersed in the happy atmosphere of reunion after a long absence, and she couldn't help thinking how ridiculous her worries that night were.

She looked carefully at her grandfather. The seventy-nine-year-old man looked very healthy, with a ruddy complexion and quick movements, without the slowness of the elderly at all.He told Keane: "Get ready for breakfast, Ruyi must not have had breakfast." Keane raised his eyebrows, agreed happily, and turned to walk away.Twenty minutes later, he walked into the restaurant with a plate of food, put fried eggs, buns with bean paste, hot coffee, and millet porridge in front of Ruyi, and said with a smile: "I haven't cooked for you for fifteen years. I'm afraid it won't suit your taste. I just asked for your home-cooked recipes from your computer. How about it? It's to your taste."

"Thank you, Uncle Keene, I like any meal you make." She was disturbed to notice that Kean's fingers visibly trembled as he served coffee to the table.In fact, she had already discovered just now that Kean leaned forward and moved slowly when he walked, like an old man suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which is not normal. B-type intelligent people have the same body structure and the same lifespan as natural humans, and Keane is just 43 years old.She asked with concern: "Uncle Keen, are you in poor health? Why are your fingers shaking?" Keane's face turned pale, he secretly looked at his master, and forced a smile: "It's nothing, I'm in good health."

But his fingers visibly trembled even more.Yoshino Omito glanced at him, and said coldly: "As early as a few years ago, Kean was obviously aging, and this year was even worse. The Human Exchange Center filed a claim, and they promised to compensate a new Type B person, which will be delivered this month." RB Keane's complexion became even paler, he lowered his head heavily, and staggered back to the kitchen.Ruyi whispered in dissatisfaction: "Grandpa!... You shouldn't be talking about this in front of him." Grandpa said meanly: "Why? Are you afraid that he will be sad? You have to remember that no matter how human he is, in the final analysis, he is still a machine. It’s just a pre-determined program. I can’t see cheap fraternity among young people the most! This seemingly noble sentiment actually degrades the status of human beings and puts them on a par with machines.”

Ruyi sighed secretly, and did not argue with grandpa.After fifteen years of not seeing each other, Grandpa's eccentric paranoia has not diminished.Ruyi quietly changed the subject: "Grandpa, how is your health? I asked for your health information on Earth, and everything is normal from the information." "I don't have any problems, except that my scalp is often swollen and numb, with a dull pain. But it doesn't matter, it's an old problem, and it has been like this for eight or nine years." "I'll give you a detailed examination tonight. Grandpa, your granddaughter is a pretty good doctor."

After the meal, she chatted with her grandfather for two hours. Before lunch, she went to the kitchen to help cook. She wanted to find a chance to comfort poor Kean.But Keane is very optimistic. Without his master by his side, he looks much more cheerful. While cooking, he said relaxedly: "Miss, you don't need to comfort me. The master is right. I know that I have Alzheimer's disease. There is no cure for it. I will be destroyed soon." Ruyi asked sadly: "Why? You are only forty-three years old." "I don't know. I am the first batch of B-type people in Factory No. 2. Maybe the quality of synthetic people was not stable at that time." Ruyi whispered, "You come back with me, and I will heal you." "It's useless, unless the brain is replaced-but after the brain is replaced, I actually no longer exist. In this case, why not just replace it with a Keen II?" He laughed, "You really don't have to worry, Type B people Life is artificially endowed, and we have no fear of death. Fortunately, Mr. Ji is in good health, and at the age of seventy-nine, he is still quick in thinking and flexible in action, just like the prime of forty. Miss, you have already After chatting with him for a long time, do you feel that he is a bit old?" "No, he's even younger than when I left here." "Is there any morbidity or other abnormality?" "No." "Look, I'm not wrong, he will definitely live another twenty years to finish writing this masterpiece." He raised his eyebrows and said happily: "I'm very happy, I'm really happy. As long as the master is in good health, I will He walked into the gasification chamber with a smile. Dinner is ready, let's go." After lunch, she had to call Jianming. The image transmission of the space ball was not stable. Jianming's head stretched for a while, and then moved sideways for a while, and finally stabilized.Although it was only a day since she left, due to the distance in space, Ruyi seemed to have been separated from her lover for a long time, picking up the phone and talking non-stop.She talked about the joy of being reunited with her grandfather, his paranoia (in a low voice, of course), Keane's illness and his situation.She felt sorry for Kean, and it weighed heavily on her mind that he would soon be destroyed.During the call, Jianming stared at her on the screen. The two talked for a long time, but Jianming kept asking: "Is there anything else to say? Is there anything else to say?" Ruyi finally suddenly realized that she was only intoxicated by the joy of reunion after coming here, and she had forgotten the agreement about plants, animals and danger signals before she left!But that was a childish joke, it's rare that Jianming still remembers it firmly.So she laughed and said: "And the flowers in my house! Don't forget to water them." Jianming laughed and hung up the phone. The space island has entered the shadow of the earth, and below is now the brightly lit North American continent, and the Great Lakes glow coldly in the night.Ruyi walked into the computer room, turned on the screen, and immediately a melodious bass sounded from the computer: "Ms. Ruyi, hello, I'm the main computer Julius, what can I do for you?" "Hello, Julius, we haven't seen each other in fifteen years, except, of course, on the Internet." "Yes, you are already a beautiful big girl." "Thank you for your compliment, Julius, I want to check Grandpa's health file." "Happy to oblige." The relevant information of grandpa was called up on the screen.Ruyi wants to do a comprehensive physical examination for her grandfather.Judging from the data and charts of the human body automatic monitoring system, grandpa's physical condition is quite good, and the condition of his brain is especially good, without brown pigment deposition, cavities and cerebral vascular sclerosis that are common in the elderly.She browsed through it, nodded with satisfaction, and was about to turn off the computer.At this moment, she was suddenly stunned.On the ultrasound image of Grandpa’s brain, there was an extremely obvious and neat circle of cracks. Because it was so obvious and neat, she subconsciously regarded it as a technical error on the image and almost ignored it.She collected herself and read it again carefully. Yes, it was a very clear interface, or in other words, Grandpa's skull was lifted, and now it is just "glued" to the skull.Spectroscopic analysis at the interface revealed that the adhesive was a biological glue extracted from mussels. It seems that Grandpa didn't notice it.This is not surprising. Although the brain is the human sensory center, the brain itself has no pain perception. It is the largest sensory blind spot in the human body.Ruyi felt her teeth shaking, and cold sweat was slowly rolling down her back.She also checked her grandfather's health files when she was on earth, but she didn't find this point at the time. Then, either she ignored it at the time, or someone made troubles and entered fake information on the Internet. who is it?The answer couldn't be more obvious.She thought of RB Keane's friendly smile, and she really didn't want to admit that he was the murderer.However, the irony is that this crime environment is too closed to accommodate his defense. In such a closed space ball, it is absolutely impossible for outsiders to commit crimes.If Servant Keene is indeed a sinister murderer, his mask is brilliant. She went back and checked the images of the brain tissue, but found no abnormalities, only found a very thin seam in the frontal lobe, so thin that it was almost imperceptible.Turning off the computer, she pondered heavily, what on earth is RB Keane going to do?A robot dissecting and observing humans insidiously, like some sci-fi novel?of course not.In the past fifty years of developing Type B people, the human brain as a model has been thoroughly studied, and all the information can be easily retrieved from any computer terminal. thing.In the case of Keane, his body is a lifelike imitation of a human being.The imitation was so realistic that strict legislation on fingerprints had to be enacted. Perhaps this is the motive of the perpetrators, a sense of resistance. They are not weaker than humans in terms of intelligence and physical strength, but they are born to be tame servants. Even more unfortunate.Ruyi thinks of Keen's illness again, a new kind of human will replace him in a few days, and Keen is destined to enter the gasification chamber.Maybe he wanted to make a last stand before dying?Ruyi didn't dare to search in the computer for a long time. It's hard to say that Julius, the main computer, didn't participate in such a big move.There is no doubt that this is a sinister conspiracy, and if they know that the secret has been exposed, they may be desperate. She walked slowly to grandpa's study.Grandpa is writing, leaning back on the high-backed chair, eyes closed, two brain wave receiving boards attached to his temples, the thoughts in his brain are automatically converted into bouncing words on the screen.The beating speed was so fast that Ruyi could barely see a few lines: "...Even in the age of ignorance, human beings know their own extraordinaryness: they are created by God, and they are the only lucky ones who have eaten the fruit of wisdom among all things. From Da Vinci, Galileo to Newton, Einstein, human beings are more It is the dream of indulging in wonderful wisdom and science. Science makes human beings stronger and their self-confidence rapidly expands. "The great Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou once dreamed that his body was transformed into a butterfly. When he woke up, he didn't know whether he was a butterfly or me? Human beings wake up from the dream of science, only to find that they don't even understand one of the most basic concepts: What is a human being? "Human beings are the pinnacle of life on earth, possessing the essence of heaven, earth, sun and moon. After hundreds of millions of years of chance, hard work, and alternation of life and death, the aura of wisdom sublimates from inanimate matter. But now, it is precisely the wisdom of human beings that corrodes The self-esteem of human beings. At this moment, the product of human wisdom - a B-type man named RB Keane is standing beside me. Except for no fingerprints, God can't tell the difference between him and human beings. But he But it was synthesized by a bunch of inanimate substances in a biological factory, and he obtained the essence of the four billion years of evolution of life in a three-hour manufacturing cycle. Will he always stand behind me with his hands down? "God, please take back human wisdom!..." After seeing her grandfather's monologue, she realized that her grandfather had always been deeply wary and hostile towards Type B people in his heart. No wonder he was always stern towards Keen, which made Ruyi's mood even heavier.Grandpa never noticed her. She bent down and quietly observed the back of Grandpa's head.That's right, there is a faint seam on Grandpa's head, which is hidden in the hair and is not easy to find, but it can still be seen if you look closely.Ruyi thought of her grandfather saying that her scalp had been swollen and swollen for eight or nine years, and she felt a twinge of pain. This poor old man only knew how to wander in the world of thinking, but he didn't know anything about this sinister conspiracy.She couldn't explain the truth to her grandfather, so she quietly exited the study holding back tears. At breakfast the next day, RB Keane asked with concern: "Miss, did you not sleep well last night? Your eyes are a little swollen." This question made Ruyi shiver. She really stayed up all night last night, thinking about that discovery.She found it difficult to understand Keane's attempt. He wanted to harm the master?But grandpa's body including brain is very healthy.At this moment, she calmed herself down and said with a smile, "Yeah, I didn't sleep well all night, I must be not used to the low-gravity environment in the space island." Grandpa also looked into her eyes, but didn't speak. Keane set the breakfast and still stood there with his hands down as before.Ruyi invited him with a smile: "Uncle Keen, sit down and eat too." Grandpa snorted dissatisfiedly, and Keen politely said: "Thank you, I'll eat later." In front of Kean, Ruyi still plays an innocent girl with no intentions.She teased her grandpa coquettishly: "Grandpa, come back to Earth with me. You haven't been back to Earth for fifteen years. Jianming said that no matter what, he must pull you back." Grandpa shook his head: "No, I'm used to it here. Besides, I want to finish this book as soon as possible. Ten years ago, I felt that aging had come. Fortunately, it has been ten years, and the god of death has not thought of me. " "Grandpa, I checked your health information last night. You are in excellent health. You can live to be at least a hundred years old. Grandpa, can you only go back for three days? You have to attend my wedding." Grandpa said coldly: "I'm old and I don't want to move around. It's okay for you to come here for the wedding." Ruyi smiled wryly, there was nothing she could do about the old man's stubbornness, you couldn't say clearly that someone here was trying to kill you!After thinking about it, she decided to bring the topic to Grandpa's head, and wanted to observe Keane's reaction: "Grandpa, don't pretend to be old. Your body is really good, especially your brain, which is younger than a forty-year-old!" When she spoke, she looked at Kean calmly, and clearly caught a trace of satisfaction in Kean's eyes.Grandpa didn't want to get entangled with her, so he changed the subject: "You studied brain surgery in medical school. Have there been any breakthroughs in this field in recent years?" "More than just breakthroughs, brain surgery technology has almost reached its peak. When type B people were developed, the research on the human brain was thorough enough. Brain surgeons had already invented the 'thicknessless' laser scalpel, which can easily non-destructive transplantation of brain tissue; invented a growth stimulant that can make the transplanted brain tissue heal quickly, etc. Technically speaking, the means of repairing and transforming the human brain have been perfect. Any trainee doctor in a county-level hospital can perform complex brain surgery with the help of a computer—unfortunately, this is not allowed by law, so the field has practically stagnated. As a brain surgeon, I often feel depressed that we have nothing to kill dragons. Can't find any practical use." Grandpa corrected dissatisfiedly: "The law has never restricted the repair of the brain, the law just does not allow the use of artificial neurons in surgery. As far as I am concerned, I would rather let the brain shrink than insert a cheap neuron into my skull. artificial products." Ruyi does not want to conflict with her grandfather.Not only grandpa, but even in medical school, there are quite a few such stubborn old people (they are all highly respected masters in various professions).In their minds, human beings, the spirit of all things, and the human brain, the highest form of matter, are the most sacred things that cannot be desecrated in the slightest.They don't necessarily believe in God, but their worship of the brain is comparable to the most devout religion.Now, it is easy to mend and perfect the brain, but due to the limitations of bioethics, no one dares to implement it.The situation is very similar to society's attitude towards abortion and euthanasia in the late twentieth century.Ruyi is not a conservative, but she knows that everything has to be done step by step. Abortion and euthanasia have only gained legal status in the world after more than 200 years of subtle influence.Ruyi quietly changed the subject: "Grandpa, the brain is indeed the most miraculous thing. It is an extremely safe and effective complex network. I have handled a typical case. A girl had the lesioned left brain removed when she was one year old. Twenty years later, I have an examination here. At that time, she found that her right brain had greatly expanded, occupying most of the cavity of the left brain and taking over most of the functions of the left brain. The brain is like a holographic negative, even if part of it is damaged, the rest can still display the photo The whole picture, but the clarity is poor." But Grandpa still continued the train of thought just now, he said coldly: "I know radicals in the medical field are often arguing the superiority of brain substitutes, they don't need to bother now, if they are willing to reduce themselves to the level of machines Identity, let’s talk about it after our generation dies, what we see is what we see!” Ruyi had no choice but to remain silent.She looked at Keen, who had remained expressionless, stood silently, and quietly backed away after clearing away the dishes.But Ruyi feels that she already understands his motive for committing the crime. If it were her, she wouldn't be able to tolerate others cutting off your self-esteem every moment!She suddenly heard a crisp sound. It turned out that the staggering Kean smashed a stack of porcelain bowls. Grandpa, who was in a rage, immediately grabbed the phone: "Is it a humanoid trading center?..." Ruyi immediately hung up the phone and gently shook her head at Grandpa.Yoshino Omi also realized that he was too impulsive, so he barely suppressed his anger and went back to the study.Ruyi came to the kitchen and looked at Ke En with mixed feelings. She had already confirmed that Ke En was plotting something against Grandpa last night, and of course she would not let him continue.But in the bottom of her heart, she has sympathy for the perpetrator. She feels that it is the legitimate anger of an oppressed person.Keane silently put the dishes into the disinfection cabinet, Ruyi patted him on the shoulder and comforted him: "Uncle Keene, don't be angry with my grandpa. He's old and his temper is too weird. If...you come to my place to spend your old age, okay?" Keane said calmly: "No, Type B people don't allow 'invalid life'. But I still want to thank you. You don't have to feel bad, your grandpa is actually a very good man, a giant of thought. He can foresee The future that ordinary people can't see, therefore also has worries that ordinary people don't have. It doesn't matter, I have already gotten used to it over the years."